My Heart Beats for You
by 1freespirit
Summary: Jeremy spent almost all night working on a program to protect the heart in Lyoko. The best he could come up with was another protective barrier to encircle it, though it would take more of an effort for X.A.N.A to destroy it. The group feels accomplished, but X.A.N.A doesn't exactly like the new plan. So he he set up his own program instead, one he enjoys. [Rated T just in case]
1. Chapter 1

Jeremy rubbed his eyes and leaned back into his chair, staring at the alarm clock right by his computer.

 _ **3:14 am**_

Jeremy sighed and glanced back at the half-typed program on his computer, a long stretch of green data running across the screen as another tab right behind it ran a scan for any activated towers.

So far, for the first time in a few weeks, X.A.N.A had been silent, the dark, evil infection of an A.I. hidden expertly on Lyoko, waiting for an opening. But what was it this time? What was he planning behind the virtual world?

Jeremy glared at the unactivated tower, daring it to start up the shrill beeps in a systematic summons of X.A.N.A's attack.

In response, the computer hummed silently, a medicinal effect for Jeremy's conscious for his part. Slowly but surely, Jeremy laid back on his glaring, idly pressing few keys for the new program he had been creating. The idle taps and clicks of the keyboard soon became moderate, and then Jeremy's fingers became a blur as he worked the eager excitement he had before when he started the creation of his new program.

"Just a little while longer." he whispered to himself.

~~~~ Code Lyoko~~~~

"Einstein's still working on that program, right?" Ulrich asked.

Odd turned aside from his position on the bed and stared at Ulrich with a disbelieving look. "Earth to Ulrich! Of course Jeremy's still working on it. He's probably gonna sleep on his keyboard again."

"Speaking of sleeping, can you turn that darn game off!"

Odd gaped. "But I've almost defeated the final boss!" He protested. A groan escaped his game console and few flashing lights sparked inside, and Odd hummed in disdain. He turned to Ulrich. "I was _going_ to defeat the final boss."

Ulrich snorted and turned over in his bed, facing the wall. "You can defeat the boss later. Mind you, there's a real monster we have to fight."

Something thumped carelessly against the floor, with a small utter of a "Fine" and rustles over on Odd's side of the room signaled that the blond had decided to face the separate wall as well.

"We'll find out what Jeremy's been working on tomorrow." Ulrich muttered into the darkness.

It didn't matter that he had said that, as Ulrich could hear the even breathing of Odd from the other side.

~~~~ Code Lyoko~~~~

The following morning, everyone was waiting for Jeremy as Ulrich timed him from his watch.

"If he runs, it might be a record."

"I can't believe he's done this again." Aelita simmered. "He knows he needs rest, so why does he blow it off?" She crossed her arms together, her normally wide eyes, were narrowed with annoyance.

Yumi pointed off into a direction. "Here he is now."

Turning towards the direction of Yumi's pointed finger, the rest of the group caught sight of blue. Sure enough, Jeremy was running, his small frame tripping every once in a while. As he got closer, the group could see that he was grinning broadly from ear to ear, the smile could have split his face in half, nonetheless it was a good change for that week.

"I did it!" He yelled across the grounds. Upon nearing the rest of the group, Jeremy grabbed Aelita's hand up, and spun her around in a victory dance. The rest were shocked. This was far too a happy instance for Jeremy to work up the courage to spin Aelita in a dance move.

As if realizing what he had done, both Jeremy and Aelita blushed, and they turned away from each other, Aelita forgetting her anger and Jeremy now reigning in his glee. He coughed into his fist, one hand behind his back.

"The program I was working on was a success. It won't do that much against X.A.N.A, but it could give us a lot of leeway in the future."

Aelita immediately hounded on Jeremy upon the word "leeway."

"Speaking of leeway, Jeremy Belpois, did you get any sleep last night!?" She yelled in his face. Jeremy backed away from her body in a defensive stance, and he put his hands up. He opened his mouth for an answer, but at the raised eyebrow of Aelita, he shut it again.

"She's right Einstein, you have been skipping off sleep." Ulrich said, patting Jeremy on the back. Jeremy's shoulder's slumped, and he took a deep breath in.

"Trust me, I'll be able to sleep 'till next morning if I can set up the program after class." he said.

Odd chuckled in response. "Let's just hope you don't fall asleep in class today."

"Please." Scoffed Yumi. "With his IQ, the teachers would be happy for him to sleep, just so they won't lose their jobs."

The group laughed together, bright eyes and smiles, though Jeremy could tell that he was starting to show dark circles under his eyes. "Come on." He said. "Before someone ca-"

"JEREMY!"

He had barely turned around when another student crashed into him, knocking him onto the ground. He groaned as he tried to sit up, the person that had tackled him had been too small for Jim to be the one to do it, and the voice _was_ feminine.

"Woah, Jeremy are you alright?" Ulrich asked. He lifted Jeremy from the ground, patting his back to dislodge any dirt and pebbles still on him. Jeremy tuned around without answer and found his culprit. A shock of red hair in two small pony tails were enough for a deduction.

"Millie? What on earth-"

"Jeremy that was _so_ unexpected from you!" Millie exclaimed. She made no move as to hearing Jeremy at all, considering the fact that she scampered around Jeremy in a fervent attitude. Her excitement was starting to infect Jeremy, who was trying to avoid her quick movements.

"What was so unexpected-" Jeremy began. Millie cut him off again, pointing at another girl with tightly wrapped brown hair.

"Tamiya, this is a scoop," To which her friend nodded. "Jeremy Belpois, School Genius can Dance."

Jeremy felt his cheeks burn as he grabbed after Millie's hands. "No."

Jeremy heard the soft snickers of Odd and Ulrich quickly die down, and he felt his cheeks burn hotter. He can feel their eyes on his back, staring at him in surprise.

"But, but." Millie stuttered.

Jeremy loosened his grip and held her hands softly in his. "Please, Millie."

The girls sighed in reluctance, dropping their hands to their sides and averting both of their gazes to the ground. "What now?" Tamiya mumbled in dejection. Jeremy looked at his friends and they shrugged, clueless. He bent over Millie's ear and whispered softly into it, keeping a close hand to block the others from being able to read his lips. Millie's gaze lifted and her eyes sparkled with a new-found muse, and she squealed in delight.

"Are you sure?" She pressed. Jeremy nodded slowly and began to walk into the direction of the first period class. "I'm sure of it. And I have nothing to do with this!" He called after them, they had begun to run away.

"You got it!" They both called. They turned a corner and were gone, their excited giggles fading away ever slightly. Jeremy turned and looked back at his friends. "What?"

They stared at him with wide eyes and blank faces, glancing at each other with a flick of their eyelids. Odd was the first to recover, and he sauntered up to Jeremy. "What was that for, Einstein?" Jeremy walked a bit quicker and calmly said, "We're already late to class."

Odd ran up to him, leaving the rest to catch up. " 'Jeremy Belpois, School Genius can Dance.' That wouldn't have been a bad story."

Jeremy stopped walking and pulled off his glasses, wiping them while staring at Odd carefully in the face. "I gave them a better story." He said, pushing up his glasses once he had cleaned them. The rest of the Lyoko Warriors caught up, walking with Jeremy up into the empty halls.

"Secretive Gym Teacher can Disco." He said. They all laughed together, melting away the awkward beginning of the day and Jeremy ushered them further into the building, walking up the stairs.

"Come on. Lets go to Ms. Hertz class before we miss it."

* * *

 **Hello, I am a new writer for the Code Lyoko Fandom. I've watched this show when I was a little girl, but I've quite recently been binge watching the entire series for a more bigger story that I am currently writing. The first manuscript I've written for this fandom was destroyed by your truly because I became embarrassed, but after being coaxed by my friend, I will re-write that story as well. It may be enjoyable, you never know.**

 **My progress will be displayed on my profile, and I would thankful for your support.**

 **Formalities aside, Thanks for reading and please leave a review! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ulrich sat next to Jeremy in Ms. Hertz class in the morning. Five minutes late and still fresh from a scolding, they all took their normal seats in the classroom. Only Aelita refused to sit by Jeremy's side. She was afraid of lashing out at him, since her anger cooled only slightly after laughing with the group through the hallway.

Ulrich struggled with his worksheet, staring at the dully typed questions in confusion, scrawling a hesitant answer on the paper, pausing, erasing, and then re-writing the answer completely. His entire worksheet was covered in dark smudges and eraser marks, the page had more creases on it than Jeremy's brow when he was lost in thought.

The brunette glanced at the boy sitting aside from him. Jeremy had his hands laced together, his head facing the paper in front of him, but his eyes were closed. The rise and fall of his chest made it obvious that he was fast asleep. Ulrich slid and arm towards Jeremy's sweater and tugged on it. "Jeremy, hey wake up."

No answer. Jeremy's closed eyes twitched a fraction but stilled, his breathing still calm and slow. Ulrich tried a second time. "Jere-"

"Ulrich Stern!" Everyone kept their gazes lowered to their classwork, though they peered up at Ms. Hertz with bowed heads. Odd and Yumi shared a concerned look, and Aelita strained to glance behind without turning her head.

The older woman made her her way slowly towards the middle of the class room, where both boys were seated. Ulrich gave a final sharp tug on Jeremy's sweater, causing his arm to slip to the side and his to head fall. Half suspended in air, he jerked awake, wide eyes and glasses askew. His shocked, almost lost gaze made him appear owlish. He looked around while setting his glasses correctly, lingering his eyes on the oncoming teacher.

She made her way to the desk, hands on hips. "I would somewhat expect this from Odd, but you?"

Ulrich bristled in anger, a small blush searing through his cheeks and he too lowered his head. He scowled at his page, waiting for Ms. Hertz to dish out the next abasing scorn for all to hear.

None came.

Turning his head again, Ulrich saw Jeremy tugging on the hem of Ms. Hertz's shirt, as she inclined her head towards him.

"Ulrich was just waking me up." he said slowly. He nodded his head towards his empty sheet of paper, to which the teacher stared in surprise. She stood a bit higher, staring at Jeremy in shock as he laid back in his chair while rubbing his face. "May I go to the bathroom? Just tired."

Ms. Hertz nodded numbly, and she made her way back to her desk. She watched Jeremy walk out of the classroom, and come back several minutes later, his slightly disheveled hair more tame, his gaze more alert. She cleared her throat and watched over the class like a hawk once Jeremy had taken his seat, smiling nervously.

Jeremy leaned a fraction towards Ulrich. "Thanks for the save."

Ulrich shook his head in mock disbelief. "Back at you."

~~~~ Code Lyoko ~~~~

The rest of the school day passed by without incident, as Jeremy had kept returning to the a bathroom after each class to splash water on his face.

After classes, they had all snuck away from the grounds and made their way towards the manhole in the forest. The short journey to the factory gave Jeremy an energetic rush and he carried on with a sense of ease as he climbed up the ladder and made his way to the large typist's chair in front of the super computer.

Cracking his knuckles, he began typing on the keyboard with a flare of confidence. "Head to the scanners. I need you guys to see it for yourself." He said boldly.

Aelita cocked her head. "It won't be like that time with the Marabounta, right?" In response, Jeremy shook his head, silently immersed in starting up the scanners.

"I promise it isn't like that." He muttered as the elevator doors were closing.

Aelita walked out of the elevator first, followed by the rest of her friends, each choosing an individual scanner until they were all taken. Ulrich stood in the middle waiting for the procedure to start so he could be virtualized.

The scanner doors closed behind Odd, Yumi, and Aelita, blocking out their view outside the scanners. Overhead they heard the amplified voice of Jeremy as he announced each part of the virtualization process.

"Transfer: Odd. Transfer: Aelita. Transfer: Yumi."

"Hurry it up Jeremy!" Ulrich yelled. He heard Jeremy snort through the microphone as he continued speaking, opting to move on with the transfer rather than respond. A few seconds and a virtualization later, Odd, Aelita and Yumi waited patiently for Ulrich to arrive at sector five. When he did, the rest thanked Jeremy's ability in silence. At least he didn't mess up virtualization despite his fatigue.

They ran towards the bottom floor, a few meager hops and lunges guaranteed them an easy passage towards the Heart of Lyoko.

"Alright, just stand around the heart. Do you guys see the protective layers?" Jeremy asked.

Yumi nodded and looked around at the others, whom were standing around various spots around the core. "Yeah, so far, so good. What now?"

"Just wait. I'm setting up the program." Jeremy replied. He added the disc onto the supercomputer, relishing the comfortable whirs and clicks as it registered its data onto the mainframe of the supercomputer, where he could download easily. The icon appeared on screen with a small _blip_ , and sported a rather small line of abbreviated code.

HOL: Heart of Lyoko

Jeremy hovered the mouse icon in front of the newly created program, speaking out to Aelita. "Can you give me a visual, Aelita?"

In response, another screen opened up and Jeremy could see the Heart of Lyoko floating in front of him. It was breathtaking. It appeared so fragile and yet had two protective layers encased around it. Inside the actual core, he could see the the four sectors attached and roving about in circles, spinning endlessly.

"Woah." He whispered.

In Lyoko, the others smirked at each other and shrugged. It wasn't new to him, but his profound sense of awe never seemed to diminish for it, and he glanced at everything in Lyoko with new attitude every time he interacted with it. Aelita called out to Jeremy. "Yes, Jeremy but we don't have all day."

It was enough to knock Jeremy out of his reverie, and he coughed awkwardly into his fist, opening the application on the screen. Instantly, lines of familiar code rained from the top of the database, and Jeremy minimized the screen so he could see the other lines of code surrounding the Heart of Lyoko. He peered at the both of them scrutinously, searching for the lines of code that he needed. There.

He kept glancing back at each individual window that he needed, making changes here and there, adding code and taking some out.

At last he was done and muttered for the others to stay on high alert, focusing most of their attention on the Heart. He sighed, pressed enter, and sucked in a breath, gripping his earpiece so tightly he almost wrenched it off. He waited quietly for several seconds when he began to believe that he had done something wrong until the computer began to whir again, much stronger, louder. Jeremy could feel the pulsations from the computer running through his chair and through his body. He sat stiffly, his concern growing, making itself manifest that he _did_ do something wrong, when it stopped.

Just as fast as it had began, the whirring and the humming died down, and the others on Lyoko gasped in shock and they stared at the Heart in a manner similar to Jeremy's when Aelita's visual had first appeared.

"Jeremy, look." And so he had. With narrowed eyes he brought the visual to full screen, sitting back as the Heart of Lyoko continued floating in the center of the room. But there was another layer around it, a more solid cubic frame floating around with the rest of the core, at peace with it's new surroundings, no longer caged in a lifeless file and reinstated in the virtual world.

Maybe that was the cause of the mini tremor within the computer, or maybe there was some other reason behind it?

It didn't matter at that moment since the program proved to be a overall success, but Jeremy needed one more thing in order to complete the program.

"Odd."

Said person looked up despite the fact that Jeremy was nowhere _in_ Lyoko. "What is it Jeremy?"

There was a sigh from the air, echoing through the room and away from the core. "This is going to sound crazy Odd."

 _What?_

"But I want you to shoot at the core of Lyoko."

* * *

 **AAAAaaaaaand there's the second chapter. Granted, I meant to leave it off here, but no worries no worries. I may or may not update quickly.**

 **On another note, PLEASE leave a review so I can a least tell how you readers enjoys this story or see where my faults are. I can't really see that unless someone points it out to me. All minds do work differently.**

 **Till next update, see you later.**


	3. Chapter 3

Odd stared at the core of Lyoko, the impact of Jeremy's words jarring him in shock and confusion, his peripheral vision barely allowing him to see his other friends react in the same manner he had. Shaking his head, Odd stared down at the never ending void under the Heart. "Jeremy, aren't we supposed to be protecting the Heart of Lyoko, not shoot it?"

"Yes, but it's only necessary for the new protective barrier that I've set up. Something should happen." Jeremy replied meekly, his fatigue channeling through his voice. Some shuffling could be heard afterwards, as if Jeremy was moving around in his chair, or (most likely) rubbing his face.

Ulrich scowled across from Odd. "What's going to happen is that the Core might give out on us." He snapped at Jeremy.

Jeremy remained silent, taking a deep breath and releasing it a slow exhale. "Then what are the two original barriers set up for? Decoration?"

The others inside Lyoko widened their eyes, shocked. Jeremy did respond with sarcasm sometimes, but now, now he had abruptly sounded edgy. It wasn't like him to be so tense after losing sleep for an entire night. Had it been that morning's incident?

Jeremy continued. "If anything goes wrong, I'll destroy the file _immediately_ , and we'll dust our hands from this."

Odd still stood in front of the Heart, pondering his choices and watching the others shrug and shuffle around in concern, Aelita holding her arms together and looking down at the void. After a few moments silence, she looked back up at him and nodded at him, slightly to continue with Jeremy's plan.

Odd raised his hand towards the Heart, and after a few moment's hesitation, he shot with an unenthusiastic "Laser arrow!" and watched in stunned silence as the arrow went straight through his target,

and shot right back at him.

Feeling his own arrow take a few life points away from him, he hissed in pain for a mere second before watching the virtual shock waves around his body dispense with a jolt, staring at the Heart of Lyoko with wide eyes.

"Einstein?" Ulrich asked incredulously. "What _exactly_ did you do?"

Jeremy laughed in response and began clattering away at the computer, simultaneously explaining, "I copied the data from the original barriers and added a few reroutes. Instead of the initial damage bouncing off the core and digital atmosphere, half the shock waves are absorbed by the aggressor, inflicting damage each time the data is triggered."

An awkward silence fell across the group. Watching the others shuffle timidly, Aelita coughed pointedly at Jeremy.

Said person sighed from his spot on the computer and reiterated, "Someone attacks the core, the core sends back half the damage."

There was a hum of agreement and satisfaction, each person nodding their heads simultaneously until Odd scowled.

"Hey, but why did _I_ have to take the damage, Jeremy?"

"I chose at random. Don't take it personally Odd."

Odd huffed in mock contempt and pointed towards nothing. "This is gonna owe you something."

Jeremy seemed to be weighing things in his mind until, "I sacrifice two deserts, and we'll call it even."

"Done."

Jeremy nodded. "Pleasure doing-"

Jeremy stopped as a yawn escaped from him in a long drawl. He cupped a hand over his mouth but it was too late, the others had heard. They began laughing, and Jeremy felt his cheeks grow warm. "Alright, alright. Let's wrap this up and go back, we all need rest."

"Especially you Jeremy." Ulrich laughed.

* * *

Walking past the bridge away from the factory, Odd caught up with Jeremy and walked beside him. "Hey, Jeremy?"

Jeremy continued staring forward but inclined his head slightly.

"Were you serious? About the desert...and stuff?"

Jeremy chuckled slightly, his hunched shoulders slightly loosening. "Yeah. And now that I think about it, you were the only one to test out the new program." He turned to Odd. "Was everything okay?"

Odd shrugged. "Aside from getting shot, it was pretty unexpected."

Jeremy shook his head. "No," He said grabbing Odd's shoulder's. "Did you feel anything strange? Anything at all?"

Odd stared at Jeremy with a skeptical stare. "No..."

With a sigh, Jeremy released Odd's shoulders and started walking again, slightly. "Okay. It's just," He waved his hands a bit for emphasis. "I would have done it myself but," Another sigh. "Like you said, I'm better off facing the supercomputer rather than be _in_ it."

Odd scoffed and patted Jeremy on the back. "Yeah, but when I said that, we got kidnapped and you personally came to save us."

"But it's not like you remember that happening."

Odd laughed. "Lighten up Jeremy, we're most likely going to remember _this_ happening." He began running. "Now let's catch up to the others. I want to make sure Kiwi is behaving."

* * *

X.A.N.A sat inside Lyoko quietly, peering at the heart of Lyoko with ill-concealed malice. It's not like that...that _thing_ around it was going to stop the heart from being destroyed. The evil A.I escaped the bounds of the generated world and could now do as he pleased. _Anything_ he pleased.

X.A.N.A could even destroy it if he wanted, but no. He still needed it, if he wanted everything to fall into place. If only he could do that in such a simpler setting. But no, the old fart _Hopper_ had to stabilize Lyoko with such little time.

Such was the incompetence of the human race.

As X.A.N.A circled the heart, he stared directly at the newly created barrier surrounding it, scowling at it's features. It glowed with a sickly yellow color, twisting and turning along with the other barriers surrounding the heart. Such rhythm would've made the A.I nauseous, if it had a stomach. Thankfully it didn't.

He reached blindly for the first barrier, and stung himself. Hissing, he drew back, circling around the heart again. He didn't know what to do with it. He could reprogram it to absorb twice the damage, but no. That would spoil the fun, and destroy Lyoko way too quickly.

Maybe disable it and keep it's shell hanging around? That would be a delicious surprise to see on the little one's face, but again, he wanted something fun. Something to leave them scrambling in all directions. Something that could cripple the whole group but still leave it standing for more.

All at once, it hit.

X.A.N.A promptly left the core to it's own devices, feeling mirthful.

It was evil. It was dastardly. It was going to be extremely, heavenly _fun._

He just had the precise plan of action.

* * *

Jeremy pulled his sweater off and placed it by his pajama shirt, blinking tiredly. He was so fatigued, so _drained_ , by the time he opened his eyes again after reaching for his pajama shirt, he had pulled his sweater back on.

With a scowl, he plopped onto his bed, cracking a few things in the process, and rumpling his shirt. His scowl slowly melted away as his tired frame loosened and he stretched, staring placidly at the ceiling. He yawned.

How long had he actually stayed up while working on the program? Two nights? Three? Jeremy could barely think straight as his eyelids tugged themselves closed and drifted off rather quickly.

His breathing was even and deep, and he turned over on his bed, his shoes thumping on top of each other as he rested facing the wall.

C-r-r-r-ACK!

Jeremy sat up, startled. He hadn't exactly been fully conscious to discern what had happened. There wasn't an intruder. His computer alarm didn't go off, and X.A.N.A was no where in sight.

Flicking on the light switch, Jeremy sighed when he saw the source of the loud noise.

The light bulb in his lamp stand had exploded. Shattered glass littered the desk and floor, the bulb's conducter hanging at an odd angle off the base.

Sidling off his bed, Jeremy looked for a scrap of paper to pick up the glass with. Transfering the broken glass on the desk to the trash can was no issue. But getting the shards on the _floor..._

Jeremy knelt down and proceeded to scoop the glass onto the paper, passing it to the trash can. Going back to the remaining shards on the floor, Jeremy hissed and dropped the small peice of paper.

Inspecting his hand, Jeremy could make out a small graze on his left hand, droplets of blood inking out of the small wound. Sighing, he picked up the rest of the glass and deposited them in the trash can, wiping the small smear of blood on his brown cords.

After patting his hands over the trash can to dislodge and stray glass, Jeremy got dressed for bed, and switched off the lights. He dropped onto his bed with a relieved sigh, and fell asleep.

Just because he was a boy genius didn't mean he didn't care about waking up early to make it on time for his classes.

* * *

 **Sorry it took a while for me to update. Lots of stuff happened and mostly school testing is the most to blame.**

 **Anyway, I'm getting right to the good stuff, just hang on, and please don't be afraid to leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Jeremy felt extremely happy when he woke up in the morning. He hummed while checking Lyoko, whistled while sorting his clothes, and the bounce in his steps made it seem obvious to others that he was giddy while walking to the shower stalls.

Quite honestly, he felt like nothing could go wrong.

After jumping into the stall, showered, and got ready for the morning, he made his way to the dining hall, where breakfast was being served. The others were already there, Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich were at the table, while Odd was at the line, asking for extra food, most likely.

"Hello, everyone." Jeremy said pleasantly while taking his own seat at the table. The girls giggled to each other while Ulrich shook his head.

"Well rested?" He asked.

Jeremy chuckled with the rest of them, "What you think, genius?" He joked.

They all laughed together, just as Odd made his way to the table, his tray heaping with buttered croissants and hot chocolate.

"I know this must look funny to you guys," He said. "But you should know it's perfectly justified."

"I said desert, not breakfast, Odd." Jeremy said, much to the amusement of the others. Odd pouted.

"But, you _can't,_ Jeremy." He whined.

Reaching for the tray, Jeremy took one croissant and split it in half. "There. You can have the rest."

Odd gasped dramatically as Jeremy took a bite of croissant. "You're an angel, Jeremy."

"Yeah, of fatigue." Yumi said.

Jeremy laughed, but began coughing, having inhaled a piece of his croissant. After clearing his throat, Jeremy shook his head at the rest of the group. "Let's just make sure we make to class on time today."

* * *

X.A.N.A searched for a weak point inside the school's systems. Granted, the entire building was littered was faulty wires and cracks for him to sneak through, but today he wanted to be precise. He wanted a prominent flaw that could undermine the school's structure, a Jenga piece that could topple down the entire formation.

Sifting through the buildings blueprints, X.A.N.A found a juicy little piece of information that suited his desires. All he needed was a precise plan of action. After thinking over the matter for a few minutes, he made his way to the closest circuit plugs in the area, pouring into the dank basement of the school.

He looked around for the specific flaw, twisting around boxes and shuffling across the floor. By all the dust settled on most the room's contents, X.A.N.A would say that no one had been in the basement for a long time.

Finally, he came across the flaw that he needed. A crack in the wall.

No. The fissure was enormous, starting as a gash in the concrete and ending barely a hairline crack. How this particular spot escaped unnoticed by the staff was unprecedented. Surely _someone_ must've noticed. Judging by the crack, and the shale around it, it had to be more than seven years old, long before Jeremy had woken up Lyoko.

X.A.N.A scowled from the depths of the school. Humanity was distasteful to his eyes. He wanted it destroyed. And he _would._

He just had something to take care of first.

* * *

Jeremy was the first to enter his physics class, feeling a bit uneasy as he did so. Was it the difficulty of the test? No he could pass that easily.

The teacher? Kindly and soft spoken.

It just struck Jeremy very odd that the room felt strange to him. Almost lopsided. He also found it strange that the rest of the class never seemed to notice, maybe they were just borderline bored with school.

After finishing his test (first as always), Jeremy sat in his chair facing the window, watching the trees sway in the park. If he felt like it, he could imagine seeing the manhole cover in the park forest, leading all the way to the abandoned factory.

"Jeremy?"

The physics teacher set some papers by her desk. "Can you stay by after class, I need some help sorting things out."

Jeremy nodded in silence, staring back out the window.

* * *

After setting up the appropriate items needed from the basement, X.A.N.A floated by the wall in distaste.

The things he had to do to procure the items he needed. No possessing. No mind control. It was all his own effort.

Yes he could have control a weak unprotected human, like that gym teacher per se, but such actions would have alarmed the boy's computer, and he didn't want to do that just yet.

He floated around the room again after skulking, looking for more important _heavier_ items. He would have to get them soon, if he wanted to be on time.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

Jeremy watched the other students pack their belongings and head to wherever they pleased. Packing his own bag and setting it by his desk, he walked to the teacher's desk, where she went under her desk and pulled out a box. She hefted it onto the desk with a bit of struggle, and pushed a strand of hair over her ear.

"Can you help me sort these out?" She asked.

Jeremy checked his watch, and looked back at the teacher, who had pulled out a stack of papers. She set different piles by each other, four different stacks side by side.

After setting the box down on the floor, she pulled out two staplers from her desk drawer, handing one to Jeremy. It was small and green, while hers was was blue.

She took one sheet from each pile, stapling them together. She looked at Jeremy, "These are next week's worksheets. Just take a page each starting here," She pointed to the first stack facing Jeremy. "We should have enough for the entire class and a few extras in case someone loses them."

Jeremy nodded slowly, then began pulling sheets from the stacks. After stapling the first packet together, he stopped. "Wouldn't it be best if one of us stacked, and on of us stapled? We'd be done faster."

The teacher blinked. "I didn't... think of that." She surveyed the stack of papers and pursed her lips. "Would you like to arrange the papers?"

Jeremy shrugged. "Sure."

* * *

X.A.N.A pushed the last heavy weighted object onto a shelf above the highest cabinet he could find. Just forming the hands to push them into place, tired X.A.N.A.

He had traveled through the basement for to long without a body to inhabit. Pushing across the basement with better ease (as he had almost used the entire basement for his own devising), he pushed the first object without much force, allowing gravity to take it's course.

Things broke, glass shattered. Items tumbled across each other with a domino effect, crashing into the object behind it. The sound of impact got deeper and deeper as the much heavier items were hit by their counterparts.

The highest shelf hit with a crashing boom, sending it to the cracked wall and shuttered the structure. The shelved object slid out of each shelf, hitting the wall with force. Rubble and debris flew around the room, shale dropped from the cracks.

After it settled, X.A.N.A peered at the crack wall. The gash was bigger, _horrible_. Daylight seeped through small holes through the gash, but not enough to illuminate the entire basement.

If he couldn't bring the attention of the boy, then the noise certainly would, but still, X.A.N.A wasn't the one to back down from a plan.

He manifested the concrete wall, settling around the gash and the area around it. He broke it down slowly, oxidizing the dried concrete to brittle the wall. The gash cracked open, larger and larger until the entire room began to shudder.

Dust and dislodged rocks fell from the basement ceiling. Removing himself from the wall, X.A.N.A fled from his crime, pouring himself into the nearest electrical circiut he could find, pausing when he heard a barely audible bleeping from above as the the wall began to cave in on itself.

Jeremy's laptop.

* * *

After forming as many packets as he could, Jeremy rubbed his tired hands against his cords, and cracked his knuckles.

His teacher had suddenly put her stapler down and removed herself from the classroom, quietly speaking about a bathroom break. She also told Jeremy that he could leave once he was done, which he was.

Grabbing his bag from the side of his desk, Jeremy pulled the strap over his shoulder and began walking out of the class. Just as his foot hit the line in between the doorway, the classroom began to shake.

Just as soon as his laptop began to alarm.

Sitting by the closest desk, Jeremy pulled out his laptop and judged that X.A.N.A's monster's were somewhere around the desert sector, protecting the tower. He placed his laptop back in his bag, taking his phone out of his pockets.

" _Now_ he shows up."

Jeremy walked towards the door, typing in Aelita's number.

He had just walked out of it when the entire floor gave way from under his feet.

* * *

 **Cliffie. Hhmm, my bad.**

 **Anyway, what's to become of Jeremy? What's X.A.N.A up to?**

 **I don't know...**

 **Sorry, yeah I do know, but you'll find out later.**

 **Bye, and thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Where's Jeremy?" Ulrich asked. "Five minutes after school and he's still not here."

"Maybe he got caught up with something." Odd said. "I did overhear his physics teacher ask him to help with something after school."

Yumi raised an eyebrow. "And how did you hear that?"

Odd stumbled as all eyes turned to him. "W-well, there's a conference room right across his class, and they have really good snack...machines."

"Right." Aelita bumped in. She opened the main doors. "Let's just meet Jeremy there."

"Agreed." Ulrich hummed.

The others began walking through the doors, just as the entire eastern sector of the school collapsed.

Between the shouts of disbelief and the running of several students that were still on school grounds, The group shared one fearful glance.

 _"Jeremy."_

* * *

Only one thing kept passing through his mind.

 _Don't fall off, don't fall off, don't fall off._

A girl started screaming. Shouts of distress rang through the air, and someone yelled, "Oh my god, there's a kid up there!"

Jeremy grunted as he shifted his weight. Just as the floor had collapsed, Jeremy had grabbed at the first thing his hands had come into contact with, unfortunately a cracking tile in the floor.

Or what was left of it.

His chest screamed in protest, scraping against broken concrete and exposed beams. His arms were tired and his fingers almost felt numb. If he strained, he could see his fingertips bleeding.

Great, knowing that his own blood was making it harder for him to hold on.

"Jeremy! Grab my hand!"

Looking up, Jeremy found his teacher straining her hand towards him. She passed several glances across the damaged floor and reached further. She had taken off her heels, dancing around the rubble like a frightened deer.

Jeremy looked down and closed his eyes, laying his head on the rubbled plaster. Coughing, he reached slowly for her hand, which she clasped quickly with her own. She tried to drag him back up but couldn't. She took another step closer, and the ground cracked at her feet, dislodging the tile that Jeremy had been holding onto.

It fell away from the building and shattered along with the rest of the rubble on the ground, churning Jeremy's stomach. If he had kept holding onto the tile...

At an awkward angle, Jeremy tried to push himself up, but only succeeded in scraping his chest against the broken cement even further. He gasped.

"Jeremy, you have to get up. Come on, give me your other hand."

Jeremy shook his head. "No, you'll," He was racked with coughs as he inhaled dust from talking. He groaned. "You'll lose your balance."

The physic teacher came close to saying something, but she was cut off as someone, or several people, were running through the halls. It was music to Jermy's ears as he saw Aelita and the others appear through the remains of the doorway.

They barely registered it as they started forward for Jeremy, who began stammering. "Nononono, get back! The ground's unstable!"

The others did as they were told, except for Ulrich, who had edged forward cautiously towards the Physics teacher. Slowly, he reached over the side and pulled on Jeremy's other arm. Something cracked behind them, the ground drooped and students screamed from below.

"He's not gonna make it!"

"Come on Jeremy!"

"You can do it Belpois!"

"Shut _UP!"_ Jeremy shouted. He was already tired from hanging off the building for ten minutes and the halfhearted support wasn't doing much for Jeremy's metabolism. He started coughing again, and kicked blindly against air, searching for some sort of foot hold. Metal began to creak, forcing Jeremy to kick even more.

Ulrich and the teacher pulled on Jeremy's arms together, eliciting grunts of pain as the boy genius was dragged up through jagged rock and concrete. Jeremy bucked again, landing a tired leg onto the side of the ledge. He was hastily half lifted, half dragged away from the broken floor, a cheer rioting from the people below.

Tripping over his own two feet, Jeremy fell to his knees and started to cough, his throat scratchy from breathing all the dust and debris from the cracked ledge. Someone patted his back, while another thrust a water bottle under his nose. He took it with shaking hands and proceeded to drink, then started splashing it on his raw fingers.

The red tinted water spilled onto the linoleum tiles, flowing away from him."We have to get to factory." He said,when the teacher left to get bandages. "Just before the floor collapsed, my laptop started tripping."

"Where is it?" Yumi asked. "Did you drop it?"

Jeremy blinked. He placed a hand around his shoulder but only felt the fabric if his sweater. He swore under his breath. "Must've fallen off when I grabbed for the ledge."

He placed a still shaky hand on the wall by him and lifted himself up, only to fall back down with a cry. He placed a hand on his chest, breathing harshly.

Odd and Ulrich pounced on Jeremy, while the girls ran for the teacher.

"Jeremy, what is it?"

Jeremy didn't respond. Instead, he pulled his hand away from his chest, pale smears of blood staining his palm.

* * *

X.A.N.A left the school's basement in anger.

He hadn't thought that the boy might've stayed after classes to help a teacher, he became too eager. He hadn't foreseen any outcomes, he just jumped right into plan. He scowled at the thought of making a simple mistake.

He needed the boy to live, well, long enough for the task at hand.

But as X.A.N.A traveled through the wires and pipes, he couldn't help himself from smiling internally. Jeremy just wouldn't _die._ X.A.N.A had done so much to get rid of the child prodigy, but he kept coming back.

He had thrown Jeremy in a lake, down the elevator shaft, electrocuted him, even put him in a _coma_ , and yet he still came back, fighting. As much as he hated to admit, Jeremy was a formidable foe, albeit with brain rather than brawn.

Such a shame that he would have to put such a talented mind to waste. The least he could do for Jeremy was place his laptop safely away from the wreckage of the building, but rest assured he was going to put the boy at risk.

* * *

"You just have a small graze."

"Spanning my entire chest, Ms. Perraudin."

The nurse lowered her clipboard, grabbing a brown unmarked bottle from a table nearby. She opened the cap and the faint scent of hydrogen peroxide wafted into the room. Jeremy lowered his shirt.

"Okay, I think I've had enough pain for today."

Ms. Perraudin snapped her fingers. "You sit right there Belpois. You can risk an infection, so you need this whether you like it or not."

Jeremy groaned and lifted his shirt. After a minutes pause, he removed it completely. Dried blood and dust couldn't really do much for him.

The smell of peroxide became stronger as she dampened a towel with it. She silently made her way to Jeremy who flinched at it's strong odor. "Is this really necessary?" He asked.

Ms. Perraudin gave him a small conspiratorial smile. "You've already suffered through ten minutes of hanging off a building. I think you can handle a little sting."

Jeremy opened his mouth to retort but yelled when the nurse stuck the cold towel onto the injured skin. The pain was explosive, it seared through the cuts and flowed around it, swathing most of his chest with a throbbing sensation. Jeremy almost hunched over, when the nurse put her hands to his shoulder's.

"Try not move much." She instructed hastily.

Jeremy grit his teeth. "Easier said than done." He gripped the chair's sides tightly, riding out the agony as if it was a wild car ride. The pain slowly ebbed away, and Jeremy sighed. He struggled to stand, and the nurse helped him up with a surprisingly strong grip. She straightened, producing a salve from her pockets.

Jeremy eyed her cautiously. _'You guys better be in Lyoko right now.'_ he thought.

* * *

Aelita paused when she typed in the data for her timed virtualization. What if X.A.N.A sent a polymorphic specter to destroy the computer while they were still inside? What if Jeremy couldn't make it to the factory in time? What if a polymorphic specter was sent to go after Jeremy?

Aelita shook her head as she slid off the typists chair and made her way to the elevator. "I'm worrying way too much." She muttered.

The elevator descended quickly, slowing to a stop and opening up to the scanner room. The others had already gone to Lyoko, most likely engaged in combat with X.A.N.A's monsters. Aelita sighed as she stood inside the scanner,wincing when she heard Jeremy's prerecorded voice ring through the speaker system.

"Scanner: Aelita."

She felt the air change in the scanner, and she held her breath. _'Please get here Jeremy.'_

* * *

Jeremy could _not_ get to the factory.

From the painful effort it took just to sit down or stand up, or from the constant waves of media desperately trying to get answers, Jeremy just couldn't find an opening.

A woman flashed her camera, making Jeremy flinch. A man was speaking loudly into microphone. Another woman waved a notepad. Camera people loomed over him.

Jeremy felt stifled. A hand grabbed at his arm and he was pulled away from the crowd, the hand belonging to none other than Principal Delmas. "Come along now, Belpois." He muttered over the rumble of the press.

The Principal kept an arm open, ushering away any reporters that stood in his way. He growled at a rather persistent man that leaned very close to the small boy.

"I've been told that you were hanging off the building for a whole _ten_ minutes." He said. "How do you feel about the lack of help?"

Frustrated, Jeremy slapped at the man's microphone, letting it crash to the ground. Delmas proceeded to walk Jeremy further as the man stood behind, muttering about the cost of equipment.

The principal opened a door, and suddenly the loud noise of the reporters was muffled. Jeremy looked around, sighing with relief when he recognized the dark mahogany desk and carpeted green floor. He turned to Delmas.

"How long am I going to have to wait here?" He asked. He gripped the sleeve of his sweater, a spare Ms. Perraudin had in closet. It was thick and woolly, as well as dark green.

Jeremy preferred it over the crimson one she also had.

Delmas locked the door of the office and made his way towards the windows, where a pair of eyes was barely seen from the other side. A clipboard was beside him. Delmas scowled as he pulled the shades over the windows. "Darn reporters." He turned to face Jeremy. "Not for long, you just have to lay low for a while. Press can really tear someone apart." He chuckled.

Jeremy frowned. "This happened before?"

The principal flinched, and he slowly sat in front of his desk. "The last time we had this much media, was when a teacher disappeared."

Jeremy stiffened. The principal was talking about Hopper.

"Out of the blue, he just vanished. Of course we couldn't just have a few dozen teacher-less classes, so we had a replacement," He paused. "Who is now your Chemistry teacher, Ms. Hertz." He gestured to the chair in front of him. "Please, sit. I can't have you standing around for so long."

Jeremy slowly eased himself into the chair, sucking in a breath as his chest strained through the pain. "Mr. Delmas I really should-"

 _Brip brip brip_

"Pick up your phone." The principal finished for him. After staring at Delmas blankly, Jeremy pulled out his cellphone from his pocket, staring at the caller ID typed into the screen. He didn't recognize it. He put the call through, holding the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

 _"Jeremy. Oh goodness, are you alright?"_

Jeremy gasped, he turned away from Delmas, who had begun to rise from his chair. Jeremy waved at him to return to his seat.

"Mom?"

 _"Yes, sweety. I'm here. There's news everywhere that the east sector of the school collapsed, and you were caught in it."_

Jeremy sighed. "Yeah. I was, b-but I'm fine now!" He added quickly. Jeremy's mother remained silent for a second.

 _"Are you sure? I can pull you out of school an-"_

"No!" Jeremy yelled. He flinched when he heard his mother suck in a breath. "N-no mom, please, I'm fine. Promise."

There was a moment of silence, and he heard a sigh from the other side of the phone.

 _"Okay. I'll try to reign in my motherly instincts,"_ She said with a halfhearted laugh. _"I suppose your father will want to hear this. I'll have to do it later because your father's at work, and I'm using a payphone right now."_

"Don't worry, I'll tell him."

 _"You're a sweetheart Jeremy."_

"Okay. Bye mom."

 _"Bye Jeremy, love you honey."_

"Love you too, mom."

Jeremy closed his cell with a soft click, sighing while turning to principal Delmas.

He had an understanding smile on his face, and he pulled out some papers from his desk. "Did your mother wish to speak to me?" He asked.

Jeremy shook his head. "She just wants to let my dad know."

Delmas nodded slowly. He stood up from his chair and proceeded to the door, where he unlocked it slowly and peered out carefully. During his few minutes with the principal, Jeremy hadn't noticed the press vanishing so suddenly. Something felt wrong, almost disconcerting.

"Alright, I guess you can leave now." Delmas said while waving him out of the office. "You usually disappear when something like this happens. Good day."

With a final shove, the principal led Jeremy out of the office and into the secretary's room. Jeremy looked around, and found the secretary with disheveled hair, concluding that she had probably mussed it up when pushing back the reporters. She looked up at Jeremy. "Do you want me to escort you to your room?"

"No, it's alright. I can go myself, thank you." Scrunching the fabric of his sweater, Jeremy left the office and made his way towards the gym. The halls were strangely quiet, and there was no sound to be heard as he walked away from the school.

 _'If I were principal, I'd probably evacuate the whole school,'_ he thought. _'But there should still be some people around.'_

Crossing the grounds, Jeremy opened the gym doors slightly and peered inside. The gym lights were off, and it was deserted. Jumping into the vast room quickly, Jeremy strained towards the tunnel in the back of the gym, running as fast as he could towards the abandoned factory.

Thank's to his scooter, Jeremy had a pretty smooth ride across the sewer, except for each jump across a break in the platforms. His heart beat rapidly, eager to get to the supercomputer and his friends. Abandoning his scooter with a clatter, Jeremy grasped the handles of the ladder and slowly made his way to the upper room.

Jumping into his seat, Jeremy held up his earphone. "You guy's would really start without me?"

* * *

Yumi had just cheered when she hit a Blok right in it's target. She caught the fan in her hand with deft agility, right when Aelita landed a perfect flip right beside her.

"How many more monsters?" She asked. Yumi glanced across the desert sector and counted the swarming amount of Tarantulas, Kankrelats, and Bloks.

"At least fifteen more." She said. There was a boom and shattered debris crashed to the ground alongside them.

"Fourteen!" Laughed Odd. A laser struck his foot and he jumped. "Hey!" He yelled at a Blok. "I'm walking here!"

Ulrich turned from a Tarantula. "Did you just quote Midnight Cowboy?"

"I don't know, did I?" Odd asked rhetorically. After a few minutes silence, he shrugged. "What?"

"That wasn't even the littlest bit funny, Odd."

Odd pouted. "Well." He scoffed. "I"d never-"

"You guy's would really start without me?" Jeremy's voice boomed through the atmosphere.

"Jeremy!" Aelita cried. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"Just some grazes." Jeremy paused, most likely checking the surrounding area for any more of X.A.N.A's monsters.

"Odd, you have a few life points." He said after a short break. "Ulrich, two shots and you're done for."

"What about the girls?" Ulrich asked.

Jeremy snorted. "They know how to prioritize." Jeremy paused again, the clatter of keyboard keys strumming through the synthesized air. "The tower isn't far from here. I can't detect any more monsters but be careful."

"Alright, an escort for the ladies."

The air shifted, the matrix of code creating Yumi's Overwing, Odd's Overboard, and Ulrich's Overbike.

"Come on." Jeremy said. "We have a certain A.I's butt to kick."

* * *

 **Almost twice the amount of the average words per chapter, and we're still at the beginning.**

 **Kind of.**

 **Hope you enjoy, and please review!**

 **Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

Jeremy continued clattering at the keyboard, first calling up everyone's vehicles, and then checking the status of Lyoko's Heart.

There was no sudden appearance, not a single monster. Not even _William_ was anywhere to be seen, and it unnerved Jeremy. Something was horribly unnatural in this attack, he could just feel it.

"Jeremy, I can see the tower, but we're not getting to it soon." Aelita called.

"How many monsters can you see?" He asked.

"Only a few."

Jeremy checked the screen. "That's...weird." He muttered. "There's a lot more from where I can see them."

"Maybe they're just invisible." Odd chuckled. He swerved across a boulder and shot an arrow at a Blok. He missed by a few centimeters and it grazed the corner of it's build.

"Just keep an eye out for anything stra- _look out!_ "

Odd looked out in front of him but saw nothing. His Overboard shuddered under his feet, then abruptly exploded into streams of data. He crashed to the ground below, rolling to a stop. "Jeremy what happened?!" He yelled, jumping up to his feet.

There was no answer. Instead, the air hissed and spattered, a hint of Jeremy's voice breaking through the system.

"...et...NOW!...eave!" His voice was distant through the crackles, distant and _really_ urgent.

The ground shook violently, and Jeremy's voice rang clearer through their ears than the most brightest crystal.

"MOVE OUT THE WAY!"

The ground began to collapse at Odd's feet. He hopped from the broken material and onto the closest boulder embedded into the earth. Ulrich skid to a stop on his Overbike, motioning for Odd to hop on. Odd jumped off the boulder and landed behind Ulrich, and they rode past, gaining a few feet towards the tower. Looking back, a good large section of the ground had been torn apart, leaving a large gap before the next platform. Odd wouldn't have been able to jump over even if he wanted to.

"What is it?"

"I don't know." Odd said. "Hey Jeremy, is everything alright?"

The air fizzed and died, carrying Jeremy's voice away.

"Jeremy? Can you hear us?"

Ulrich pulled out his Katana from it's sheath. "I don't think we'll be talking to Jeremy anytime soon."

Looking ahead of them, Yumi defended herself against the remaining Blocks protecting the towers, just managing to throw her fans while jumping across the lasers that struck the ground. She turned to face them after she caught a fan when it missed a Blok by a corner.

"Something's wrong you guys."

Ulrich tossed his Katana at the Blok. It exploded into vanishing streams of data, only to be replaced by another. It began turning on it's axle rapidly.

"Is that what you mean?" He asked. The Blok suddenly stop turning and fired, aiming at Yumi. The axle twisted, unformulated by the sudden standstill. The Block broke off, firing at Yumi at an angle.

The laser missed by a long shot, fortunately leaving Yumi with the chance to strike at the exposed target.

Unfortunately, the awry laser struck Ulrich in the abdomen, and he immediately began to deconstruct into the devirtualization sequence.

He couldn't exactly see himself traveling through the mainstream, but at the same time, Ulrich could. It passed through his subconscious in a flash, the maximized size of the copper wires trailing through the computer, the flashes of data as it scanned his digits multiple times to accept his prints.

The trip always left him gasping for breath, because holding it seemed like a necessary step for the process. He felt the compressed air in the scanner stabilize around the chamber, and he fell forward, grabbing at his midsection in pain.

Before he could hit the floor, he felt himself fall into someone's arms, said person muttering about his weight. Looking up, Ulrich was glad to confirm it was Jeremy.

"We have a problem."

Suddenly, the pain didn't seem to register to him as much as the cold sense of dread invading his gut. Jeremy helped him up, leading him to the ladders by the scanners.

"I've lost contact and the elevator's jammed. I need you to stay here and try to listen in on most of the activity."

Ulrich stepped on the first rung of the ladder, following Jeremy as he sped up before him. "And what are you going to do?"

Jeremy kept climbing until he reached the main room, looking back down and reaching out a hand. "I need to go back and find my laptop. If it's not damaged, we have a shot of helping the others."

Ulrich took Jeremy's hand, using the extra force to climb up the rungs quicker. He placed the panel over the small space. "Let me guess, don't touch anything."

Jeremy nodded. "Not unless I tell you to." He ran towards the elevator, typing the code into the keypad and standing back when the doors disengaged ports and began to peel back with a hiss.

"I thought you said the elevator's jammed." Ulrich said.

Jeremy said nothing as the elevator doors opened completely, exposing the empty shaft inside. He turned to face Ulrich with a small smirk. "I did." He nudged along the shaft, climbing onto the rusting blue ladder by the wall. A few rungs up and he looked at the beams.

"I really hoped I wouldn't have to do this again." He muttered as he continued up the shaft.

Ulrich stopped short of placing the headset by his ear. He turned the the elevatorless hole. "What you mean _again?!_ "

Jeremy's voice barely echoed through to him. "Couldn't hear you. Gotta go. Need laptop to save day, 'kay Bye!"

Ulrich turned back to the supercomputer rolling his eyes and stopped mid roll. The screen was wonky, random blips of light shining in one direction, and sections of sectors morphing and melting into various monitors. There was nothing to be heard through the headset except hiss and static.

"Wow." Ulrich stuttered. "Jeremy really has his work cut out for him."

* * *

Jeremy struggled to climb up the rungs of the ladder with surprisingly little issue, even despite the injuries inflicted on his chest. Maybe the first time climbing up the ladder helped him gain some stamina, even though he was almost killed.

Jeremy smiled softly with a trace of nostalgia, while most was just the hope of being alive.

Oh the thrill of proving X.A.N.A wrong just by breathing. The memory brought most of the slow climb up to quick finish, and Jeremy found himself sprinting back past the tunnel and into the empty gym room.

Jeremy stopped halfway through the gym, his sneaker's squeaking to a stop. He looked around, particularly at the bleachers, feeling an unsettling set of eyes watching from close and far.

He shook himself and continued, walking out of the eerily empty room and continued towards the wreckage of the east sector of the school. If his laptop was anywhere, it should be there.

He crossed the grounds as quietly as he could, not that it mattered. Even as he walked through the grounds, everything was devoid of life.

The scrambling students that cried for his safety? Gone.

The reporters? Who knew they existed?

It didn't even look like the teachers were around either.

Jeremy surveyed the wreckage of the school from a distance. He searched along the ground, hopefully eyeing the rubble and concrete for a single trace of his bag. He continued along the wall and stared up at the same floor he was hanging off of.

"Oh." He muttered. He calculated the distance of the floor and the wreckage (at least thirty feet adding what was left of the basement) and the multiple variables of him injuring himself vastly. The chances of him surving (adding the fact that he already did) didn't really equal the other outcomes.

 _"Oh."_ He said again.

Unnerved, he walked towards the dorms of the other side of the school, his wavering hope for the laptop's survival slowly unraveling. By the time he had reached the hallway were his dorm was, he became so dejected he didn't realize the bulky form walking towards him.

* * *

"Guy's? Can you hear me?" Ulrich asked tentatively into the mic. The static continued on for a few seconds and jumped into silence.

He hopped in his seat. "I can't hear you guys, can you hear me? Jeremy went to find his laptop."

"Well I guess that means we can just wait here for him to get back."

Ulrich almost tore his ears right off his head with the headset as he jumped off the chair and whirled around. "ODD! Can you at least warn me when you're going to climb up here?"

The blond raised his hands in retaliation. "Hey. I tried." He said. "But you didn't respond so I thought something bad happened."

Ulriched groaned and gestured to the supercomputer. "Something bad _did_ happen Odd! Look how messed up this is!"

Odd took a spare glance at the screens at recoiled. "I hope the girls are okay." He said.

"It's pretty obvious that X.A.N.A's behind this, so we gotta hope that Jeremy can pull through with his laptop." Ulrich said.

Odd stared at him. "Wasn't Einstein's laptop destroyed?"

Ulriched shook his head. "Even he's not sure what happened to it. So I'm guessing there's a fifty percent chance the laptop survived."

* * *

Jeremy was sure of himself that there was little to no chance the laptop could even function properly if he could find it. He had undoubtedly dropped the bag after he fell, making the chances the laptop survived minuscule.

He sighed. Such was the luck of Jeremy Belpois.

He looked up as was searching for his exact door when he collided into someone. Hard. He fell to the floor with a thud, his chest pain searing his flesh a little more sharply.

Something grabbed his arm.

"Jeremy my boy, I barely saw you coming. Why are you still here?"

Jeremy stammered as he faced a large brown suit and fuzzy greying beard.

"Sorry, Mr. Delmas, I was just going to look for things in my room."

"That's no good Jeremy, the entire school's been evacuated. You can't stay here." The principal bent one knee and stared at Jeremy at eye level. "At least just grab some of you belongings and I'll escort you out."

Jeremy nodded. "Alright." Jeremy searched through the principal's thick rimmed glasses, searching for any telltale signs of X.A.N.A's possession.

His eyes were clear and a touch of paternal instinct shined slightly in his dark Maroon orbs.

Pulling out his key, Jeremy unlocked the door and made his way towards his desk, already calculating the necessary items he needed for a makeshift laptop.

A glint of light from his left made him look to his bed, almost crying out for joy when he saw his laptop poking slightly out of his dusty otherwise safe bag's flap.

Delmas followed his gaze. "Ah yes. I found that by the rubble when you were lifted away from the wreckage."

Jeremy gawked. "But how? There's little to no way this could've survived." He strapped the bag onto his shoulder. He grabbed a few things from his desk and tapped a randomn key on his keyboard. The computer whirred to life, booting up slowly and brightening.

Suddenly, the monitor let out a loud groaning sound and stopped two thirds through the process, shutting down with a flash of sparks and gentle smoke off the tower.

Jeremy sighed. He had known X.A.N.A would aim to destroy his precious computer. He seemed to be taking more steps than usual.

She would be missed.

"Come on Jeremy." Said Mr. Delmas. "We wouldn't want to be caught up in the mess."

Jeremy stopped. "Oh my god." He turned to the principal. "Was anybody else caught in the collapse?" He asked anxiously. "Millie. She had a class besides mine. She always stays after school. Is she-"

"Calm down Jeremy." Delmas had put his hands on Jeremy's shoulders. "I made sure everyone was gone."

Jeremy felt his skin go cold. His breathing slowed. A pain hit Jeremy in the chest, but he understood it wasn't from the wounds on his torso. It was the adrenaline rush, a sudden stab of fear in his heart.

He looked aside and out the door. "I think we should leave the building now, sir."

Delmas tilted his head a bit unnaturally for the boy's comfort. "Without getting a few things?" He said. "Shouldn't you pack some stuff first?"

Jeremy blinked, unable to react properly. "Like what?" He whispered.

Delmas looked up at the closet. "You might need some clothes, since the school's evacuated. Some personal belongings." His eyes scanned the wall. "Your...plans."

Jeremy chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, that much doesn't matter."

He made his way towards tne door, when it suddenly slamed closed right in front of him. A hand snaked around the collar of his sweater and hoisted him up in the air.

"You're right." Delmas' voice was doubled and warbled, his physical strength heightened immensely. "What matters is that I make you regret ever turning on that computer."

* * *

"What are we supposed to do?" Odd asked.

"I don't know, Boy Blunder told me not to touch anything unless he said so." Ulrich mumbled the last bit, pouting slightly in annoyance.

Odd pulled out his phone. "Why don't we just call the 'Boy Blunder' for some info?"

Ulrich sat up from his seat. "You know, that might have been the best idea you've had all day."

Odd tapped into his phone. "I will take that as a compliment."

* * *

Jeremy felt his head crack with pain as soon as he connected with the wall. He stumbled up from the ground, coughing into his hand.

"When did you possess Mr. Delmas?" He asked.

X.A.N.A chuckled, his warbling laugh resounding with emptiness. "I did it when you were distracted by your dear mother."

Jeremy backed up to his door. He tried the handle and cheered inwardly as it turned. "And the reporters? The students?"

"I didn't lie when I said the school was evacuated. They were so... _stubborn."_

Jeremy threw the door wide open, bursting out of it with desired freedom. The meager two steps it took to leave the room was savored temporarily as he was snagged back and hoisted by the door.

"We can always stop you X.A.N.A.." Jeremy said. "There's always Aelita and the others to take you down. "

X.A.N.A laughed. "Do you honestly believe that I would _actually_ be defeated by you children time after time again?

Jeremy waited fearfully for the bolts of electricity that would usually stream through X.A.N.A's hands, but instead the vengeful A.I started to curl each finger around Jeremy's neck.

"I've let you pretend to be a hero, just so I could leech more power off of every return to the past you've ever initiated."

Jeremy struggled to remove the hands constricting his breathing, but the transparent staticy hands were clamped to his throat like solid steel.

"I just bade my time, waiting for you to make one stupid mistake, and you did. You set me free."

Jeremy spoke with what little air he had. "We can put you back."

X.A.N.A smiled, distorting the principal's face into a grotesque mess.

"You'll be dead before you can even try."

Jeremy's vision swam, he could barely see past hist fumbling hands as they scrambled for almost nothing in particular. The echoing warbled laugh of Delmas' possessed form rang through Jeremy's muddled brain, and all he could think about was the fleeting breath of fresh air should he be able to break away from the steel hands.

Jeremy barely noticed that X.A.N.A had dropped him, until the air began to start registering to his brain.

His unfocused eyes caught the blury form of Delmas, and he leaned closer to Jeremy.

"I can kill you all at any given point of time." He said. "Don't expect this to be a spare moment for survival."

Jeremy felt his mouth open as he forced his addled brain to generate any retort. But his body fell slack as X.A.N.A pushed him from the door, and lost all forms of consciousness when he proceeded to walk out his dorm.

* * *

 **I'm sorry. I don't have my laptop so I couldn't type as fast as I wanted to.**

 **Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review.**

 **Have a good 4th of July**


	7. Chapter 7

Jeremy felt like the world had fallen from under his feet when he tried to stand up, wobbling shakily and bumping back onto the door.

 _How long have I been out?_ Jeremy wondered. He checked his watch, then remembered he had barely glanced at a clock throughout the entire collapse of the East wing.

Whatever, the watch read _**3:15**_ anyway, probably broken during the whole school fiasco.

Jeremy sighed and brushed off his knees, sitting on his bed to clear his mind. He grabbed his laptop from the bag and found it on, just how he left it. There were a few clips and dents on it's frame but still in working condition.

He immediately put a call through to Ulrich, and after a few useless rings, Jeremy wasn't surprised to hear Odd's voice through the laptop instead.

"Jeremy, _where_ are you?" He demanded.

Jeremy groaned. "I'm still at the school. X.A.N.A's attacked me. He's possessed principal Delmas."

"Yeah, we know Einstein. He's out for the count, as of the moment."

Jeremy stood, walking towards the west wing stairs. "What time is it?" He asked slowly.

"It's...a quarter to four."

 _Perfect._ Jeremy thought. _Three forty five. About fifteen minutes in the lab, and about ten minutes conked out._

"I'm on my way." Jeremy said. "Where's Ulrich?"

"He's still trying to help the girls. It's gotta be a record, how long Yumi's been in there without getting devirtualized."

"Yeah, but we'll be of more help when I get there."

* * *

"Jeremy? Jeremy can you hear me?" Aelita asked. "Jeremy, things don't look so good, what's going on?"

Aelita turned to Yumi, and she grabbed her fan from the air and shut it closed. "I think that's the last of them."

"Something's not right." Aelita said. "First our communication with Jeremy gets cut and now, there might be a threat we can't even see."

"If it is a threat," Yumi added, "Why won't it attack us?"

"Maybe it's hiding?" Suggested Aelita.

"I doubt it." Responded Yumi. "It almost feel like it's some kind of surprise attack."

"Wait," Aelita hushed, "Do you hear that?"

Yumi stood quiet, ready to furl open her fan at a moments notice. The hiss in the air dropped, and the girls could hear a voice, faintly.

"Yumi? Aeilta? Can you read me?" Ulrich said.

Yumi gasped with joy. "Yes!" she shouted, "We can!"

"Great." Ulrich said. "Jeremy just got back with his laptop, we manage to transfer audio there."

"How's Jeremy?" Aelita asked.

Ulrich chuckled nervously. "A little shaken. X.A.N.A's gotten hold of Delmas and attacked him."

Aelita started. "Is X.A.N.A-"

Before she could finish her question, the girls could hear a large bang come from the area around the computer.

"He's trying to force his way in." Aelita heard Jeremy say.

"Think we can distract him long enough for Jeremy to do his thing?" Odd asked Ulrich.

"Let's hope so." Ulrich replied. The girls waited until the shuffling stopped, sighing with relief when Jeremy spoke into his headset.

"Do the lovely ladies need their vehicles? Or should I say ' _A_ vehicle?'" Jeremy joked.

"Good to see you're okay." Said Yumi as her Overwing materialized beside her.

Aelita took Yumi's hand, and climbed up behind her, taking one last look at the detached ground separated from the rest of the Desert region.

They zipped along the ground, slowly making their way to the activated tower. Aelita looked around for any monsters and was unnerved to find none. She tapped Yumi. "I'm going to get a view from the air."

Yumi nodded. "Ok, you go ahead."

"Be careful, Aelita." Jeremy added. "I may not be able to see anything on my screen so far, but there might be something."

Aelita nodded. "Got it." She said, activating her wings and taking to the skies, closely behind Yumi.

* * *

Jeremy was confused. There was no sign of any monsters, but he could still make out some type of _thing,_ it was just so blurred on his screen, he couldn't make out what it was.

"Aelita," Jeremy said, "Did you see what was just beyond that broken edge?"

"Not really," Aelita responded, voice faint, "There wasn't anything there. Just the ground."

"It's so weird." He said. "There's an indicator pointing at something, but the mainframe is so messed up, I can't make out what it is."

"Do you want me to check it out?" Yumi asked.

"No, at any point, our main focus is to get Aelita to the tower as fast as possible, and protect her."

"But," A distorted voice said, "Who's left to protect dear old Jeremy?"

Jeremy jumped from the floor, barely dodging X.A.N.A's swinging arm. As quick as he was, it didn't stop the possessed principal from grabbing him off the ground.

Jeremy shot a glance from the other side of the room as X.A.N.A hoisted him up to his feet, but Ulrich and Odd were nowhere to be seen.

X.A.N.A laughed over Aelita's worried inquiries. "Those brats just love to play hide and seek, don't they? Well, too bad they don't know how stupid they are."

He laughed again, chilling every part of Jeremy to his core. X.A.N.A tilted principal Delmas' head, examining Jeremy with a sneer. "But you know, don't you Jeremy? How infuriating they can be, with their simple minds."

Jeremy stabilized himself against X.A.N.A's grasp, trying to shove his arm away as X.A.N.A pressed him against a wall. "I don't know what you're talking about." He gasped at the A.I.

X.A.N.A raised his arm and crackled the electricity at his fingertips. "Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. I've heard you sigh in disappointment every time they mess up the most simple procedure, scowl when the others take matters into their own hands. You're like me, desiring total control."

Jeremy shook his head. "No, you're wrong!"

He narrowed his eyes, peering at Jeremy like a cat. "Just admit it, Jeremy. You hate them."

"I hate _you_." Jeremy spat.

X.A.N.A tsked. "All that malice for someone trying to help you."

The A.I smiled grotesquely before electrocuting the small genius's wound, admiring the soft blue light that, in his twisted mind, complimented the agonized screaming.

* * *

Ulrich crept along the beams, listening in on X.A.N.A's leering. He held the crowbar closer to his chest, twisting the rusted metal bits like it was X.A.N.A's throat. He turned to Odd's position, and nodded slowly when he caught the blond's eyes.

Together they jumped from the beams and ran towards the possessed principal, just as he proceeded to electrocute Jeremy.

" _Jeremy_!" They cried together. X.A.N.A turned to them with a crazed look in his eyes, the symbol of Lyoko dancing erratically.

"I suggest you both stay back! Or I break his ribs!" He yelled. He pressed the wound on Jeremy's chest, eliciting a louder scream from the boy.

Ulrich felt a pang in his gut, watching Jeremy buck and flail against the electric current and pain, and judging by Odd's reaction, he felt the same.

His screams were awful, but X.A.N.A smiled as he drunk in the sound as if it were the most blissful of music. Jeremy waned slowly, and he fell limp under X.A.N.A's pressed hand, finally unconscious. "Good," He said, dropping the boy to the floor.

He turned to Ulrich and Odd. "Now sleep."

Before either of them could jump out of the way, X.A.N.A turned the current onto them.

* * *

Aelita could hear Jeremy screaming from the computer, as faint as it was. She swooped from the sky to lower ground, gaining speed as she flew towards the activated tower. It was like a walkway, a narrow field with the tower at the end. It glowed with a lazy red color.

"Aelita watch out!" Cried Yumi.

A sharp pang hit Aelita in the shoulder, knocking her to the ground and de-activating her wings. She rolled to a stop, cursing herself for getting so caught up in her feelings. She turned to the origin of the shot and groaned when she saw a group of Hornets racing towards her.

She gasped, jumping into fighting position. Her shoulder throbbed, and she could feel her life points draining because of the Hornet's poison. The jab only struck her in the shoulder, so her points wouldn't fall greatly, but it was still a bad situation.

"Yumi!" She cried.

"On it!" Yumi yelled. She jumped from her Overwing, unveiling her fan and tossing it towards the first Hornet with a cry. It sliced through the target, leaving four more in it's place.

"Aelita, go! I'll handle them." She said.

Aelita nodded and started running towards the tower, just as a wisp of dark smoke sped along the ground past her, forming into a black pillar.

"Oh, no." Aelita said to herself. "Just what I need."

William stood in the distance blocking the way to the tower, readying his sword as Aelita drew near. He jumped in the air, and swung his sword full arc, dark power ripping the ground in front of Aelita's feet, separating her from the tower.

He chuckled, dropping to the separated ground, and raising his sword towards Aelita, challenging her to cross.

She activated her wings and flew to the separated section of the ground, landing gracefully on her feet. The surprise to her was how he waited, patiently.

She bent into fighting stance. _What is he doing?_ She thought.

* * *

X.A.N.A chuckled as he carried Jeremy's unconscious body to the scanner room.

The boy _was_ very stubborn, and he just had to admire that resilience. Of course per his research (and heaven help, his programming), the humans were just disgusting, vile creatures that needed to be wiped out.

But with the boy...

X.A.N.A chuckled again as he opened the scanner, placing Jeremy almost gently inside.

The boy could be useful, but all that talent would go to waste, he'd just be a mindless puppet. No, he wanted something better, something that would prove to those infernal children that he was not to be messed with.

 _Such a tragedy to befall the young boy._ Thought X.A.N.A. He smiled again as the doors closed on Jeremy.

 _But what fun it's going to be._

He made his way back up the ladder, making sure the two males weren't stirring from their...temporary nap.

He grabbed the laptop and disconnected it from the supercomputer, closing it, and tossing it onto the chair. He turned to the back of the supercomputer and viewed a wisp of his essence infecting the mainframe. He called it back, and the inky smoke reconnecting with him.

The computer was no longer glitched. The screens restored themselves to their proper settings, and X.A.N.A took his time typing in coordinates, and virtualization sequence, again throwing the laptop away from him. It was okay, it landed on one of the males.

The boy's status popped into view, and X.A.N.A purred in delight. _Such a lovely time, today._ He thought.

X.A.N.A replugged the earpiece to the supercomputer, recoiling as the Hopper offspring started talking.

"Jeremy? Jeremy! Come on, wake up!" She said.

Perfect, the boy made it safely, for now. Now for William to pull through for the next part of the plan.

* * *

Aelita began to charge towards William, when she saw the virtualization sequence happening in front of her, and she stopped.

Odd and Ulrich's thirty minutes hadn't finished yet, and Yumi had just destroyed the Hornets. So who...

At first when the blonde hair appeared, she thought it was Odd, but the she saw the green sweater and corduroy pants, she abandoned the thought of William altogether.

Jeremy fell from sky, crashing to the ground with a sickening thud. He didn't move.

Aelita ran towards him, near panic. She skid by his side and shook him. No response. She pushed him slightly.

"Jeremy? Jeremy! Come on, wake up!"

"How sweet." Said X.A.N.A. "The poor helpless princess, desperately trying to save her poor helpless prince."

Aelita held Jeremy close, glaring angrily at William. "What do you want!?" She yelled.

X.A.N.A cackled. "Just a small gift from me to you." He said.

A blue crystalline hemisphere rose from the void under, rising to reveal blue fleshy tentacles, and the Lyoko symbol.

Jeremy stirred, and blinked hazily at William. "Aelita, w-what?"

Aelita rose, pulling Jeremy up to his feet. "Stay behind me." She instructed.

Jeremy blinked slowly behind Aelita, disoriented, fatigued, and in what he could explain as agony. He fell to his knees, and looked at his arms, the electrical burns looking worse every second.

"I want him to understand what it means to be truly helpless, under me." X.A.N.A finished.

Aelita readied an energy sheild, as William and the Scyphozoa slowly made their way to them.

* * *

 **Wow! I am so GLAD I can post this. Like I'vebeen slaving over it for the past few days. Ok, thank you for waiting, and I'M SO SORRY for making you guys wait that long, I swear. Things haven't been going good lately but i wanted to make sure I still had time write.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

Yumi grabbed her fan from the air, turning to look at Aelita backing away from the Scyphozoa and William, with...

Jeremy?

"Aelita!" Yumi cried, jumping onto her Overwing. She turned to the Hornets, which were flying away in broken formation. She turned back and unfurled her fan, tossing it at William.

He dodged, coming back up with a sneer. He pointed his sword at Yumi. "At your command, X.A.N.A." He said.

He swung his sword, aiming a strike at Yumi's Overwing. Hitting the bottom of her vehicle at an angle, Yumi's Overwing flipped upside down, and she grabbed desperately at the handle before it disappeared from the devirtualization phase.

She hit the ground with a roll by Aelita's side, jumping into stance.

"Ready, Aelita?" Yumi asked, grabbing her stray fan from the air.

Aelita nodded, holding up her energy shield.

X.A.N.A laughed. "I'm sorry," he said, "but you must have forgotten something."

Yumi scowled. "Did we forget to kick your butt?" She retorted.

"Close, but no cigar, little one." X.A.N.A laughed again. "Devirtualization."

Yumi and Aelita's weapons melted into blue streams of data, leaving them defenseless. They turned to each other with a gasp.

"Jeremy, what do we do?" Yumi asked.

Jeremy held a hand up to his head, groaning. He barely looked at the Scyphozoa, turning to Aelita with pained eyes. "Run to the tower."

"What about William?" She asked.

"Jeremy isn't in good condition to answer that my dear." X.A.N.A replied. He clattered at the keyboard. "There, you should have some life points left, and I extracted the poison from you Aelita, but you better act quick." He said with a sardonic chuckle.

"Quick for wha-" Yumi began to ask. William charged and stabbed her, keeping his hand steady as he drained what was left of Yumi's life points. She looked at him, saddened by the lack of familiarity in his eyes. "William."

Aelita watched as the Yumi left a shell of herself around the sword, flinching as William broke his weapon away, dispersing the frame from view. He turned to Aelita, raising his sword at her level.

Suddenly, she felt a push from behind, turning to see the Scyphozoa's arms grab blankly at the space she was standing in. Jeremy glanced at her. "Run!"

Aelita charged towards the tower, stopping short when she saw William blocking her way. He smiled, and moved to the side, gesturing to the tower in a sarcastic manner.

Aelita felt her heart fill with dread, and she turned, watching helplessly as Jeremy was lifted in the Scyphozoa's arms, with barely any time to reigister a cry before it started downloading data from his body.

* * *

Jeremy felt numb, watching the Scyphozoa slowly take away what it wanted. His half lidded eyes could hardly focus on the symbol of Lyoko, his arms were pinned tightly to his body, and he could almost feel weightless, carried into the air without actually being held by the Scyphozoa.

He could vaguely see streams of data flowing through it's tentacles, and he wasn't really surprised to find that it was blue. All of a sudden he felt something being pulled from him. A sort of power, a resistance to X.A.N.A's control.

He felt weaker, slacken by the Scyphozoa's paralytic hold. He almost couldn't feel any pain from before, the burns, his ribs, he couldn't even feel his fingertips, and it felt nice.

It was calming to know that there was something to take his pain away, but he didn't want it to be the enemy. His friends. He needed them, he needed Aelita, and he could almost hear her crying his name, begging him to resist.

But he couldn't. It wouldn't let him. The edges of his vision were becoming dark, and he could hear Aelita less and less.

And just somewhere over the atmosphere, he could hear an echo of laughter, and crying.

* * *

Yumi slammed her fist on the scanner, getting up and walking to the ladders by the room, crawling up the rusty metal bars with seething anger. She threw open the latch, and X.A.N.A barely spared her a second glance.

"Ah, how nice of you to join us." He said.

Yumi scowled. "Why don't you come over here and see how _nice_ I can be?" She said, while bending into a fighting stance.

A crazed beeping came from the supercomputer, and X.A.N.A laughed. "I'll have to take up your offer later, _warrior_ Ishiyama. But for now, I really want you to enjoy this little twist I made up."

He bowed to her, and with a loud, barking laugh, X.A.N.A left Delmas' body, letting the unconscious principal crash to the floor.

Yumi ran to the computer, and gasped when she saw the data on the screen.

Ulrich stirred from the ground alongside Odd, but Yumi's eyes stayed glued to the screen, denying the numbers that were depleting in front of her.

Ulrich groaned from behind the chair. "Yumi, what's going on?" He asked.

Odd followed with a disdainful chuckle. "Don't mind me. Just a little crispy."

"Worry about that later!" Yelled Yumi. "Get to the scanners, Jeremy's in trouble!"

"You mean, Einstein's in Lyoko?" Odd asked.

"Yes, and the Scyphozoa's attacking him, now go!"

Odd and Ulrich gasped, running to the ladder and sliding down quickly. They ran towards their respective scanners, jumping in as they opened.

"You better hurry before Jeremy..." Yumi trailed.

"Before Jeremy _what_ , Yumi?" Ulrich asked. He jumped back out the scanner, ready to climb up he ladder and take care of any threat above the scanners.

Yumi stuttered in the mic. "It, it's too late." She said softly. "X.A.N.A'S gotten what he wanted."

Odd started. "That's impossible. Jeremy always has something up his sleeve."

"Everything's gone downhill." Ulrich said.

* * *

Aelita did everything she could to keep Jeremy's attention, begging him to resist the Scyphozoa's power, to keep his eyes open, but nothing worked.

His already half closed eyes slowly shut, and his blue aura continued to flow through the Scyphozoa's tentacles at a steady pace.

William stood by, watching Aelita suffer with no way to help Jeremy without her Energy field. He blocked the way to the tower every time she made a run for it, and laughed when she turned to face Jeremy with fear.

Finally, the Scyphozoa dropped Jeremy, floating away with his data. Aelita ran to Jeremy's side, shaking him.

Jeremy, Jeremy if you don't wake up, I'll," She paused, "I'll start dating Odd."

Jeremy remained unconscious, moving only to the pull of Aelita's arms.

William laughed, descending on Jeremy and Aelita while drawing his sword.

Aelita covered Jeremy's body with her own, holding him close.

* * *

The scanners whirred to life, buzzing just as Yumi cried, "Aelita, no!" through the headset.

The scanner at the center opened up, and Aelita fell out. She crawled forward, picking herself up and running to the ladders by the scanner room. She crawled up the shaft, jumping over Delmas' unconscious body, and standing over Yumi. She took over the controls, typing furiously into the keyboard.

"I'm setting back what X.A.N.A deactivated." She said. She continued typing until William's view of Lyoko popped up screen.

"What's he doing?" Said Yumi.

Aelita typed faster, bringing another screen onto view. Jeremy's stats poured into view, and she started a scan to find the missing pieces. Aelita noticed that X.A.N.A had hacked into Jeremy's Lyoko form, preventing him from fighting back.

"Aelita..." Yumi said worryingly.

Aelita looked back at the screen, watching as William positioned his sword over Jeremy's chest, waiting to make sure that the girl's got an eyeful before impaling Jeremy with the sword.

Aelita screamed, watching helplessly as his life points drained before her. The virtual card's color dulled in the screen, and Jeremy began to deconstruct into small blue digits when the card became completely inactive.

William removed his sword from the empty space in front of him, placing the heavy weighted blade on his shoulder, and disappearing into black smoke, cutting off the live feed.

Aelita stared at the screen, watching Jeremy's inactive card, praying for it to come alive.

Instead, she heard the scanner room buzz with life, and she ran to the ladder, deciding that the elevator would take too long.

* * *

Odd and Ulrich stood in front of the active scanner, waiting cautiously for what was waiting on the other side of it. It slowly opened, a heavy set of steam rising from the pipes under the scanner's metal plating.

Jeremy stood in the center of the scanner, staring at the group with dead eyes. He breathed as if he had run a mile from Jim's PE class.

Odd blinked nervously. "Uh, Einstein? Say something?"

Jeremy smiled painfully. "Keep doing that Odd, I swear."

"Swear what, Jeremy?" Odd asked.

Jeremy almost answered. But before he could, he collapsed out of the scanner, landing in Odd and Ulrich's arms. They laid him gently on the floor, turning to the girls.

"Does the elevator still work?" Ulrich asked.

Aelita nodded slowly, kneeling to Jeremy's side. "I just fixed it." She said. She examined the extensive burns on Jeremy's arms and neck, putting a hand to her mouth when she saw how deep they were. "We need to get Jeremy some medical help."

"Right." Ulrich said. "Odd, help me pick up Jeremy."

Odd lifted up Jeremy by his left, and Ulrich, on his right. Together they supported Jeremy up, carrying him over to the elevator.

Aelita fiddled with her hands as Yumi pressed the button, and as they back to the computer room, stopping for Mr. Delmas.

After dragging his unconscious body to the elevator, they started again, rising back up to the abandoned factory.

* * *

Yolanda was accompanied back to her infirmary by Jim, after principal Delmas had the entire school evacuated to another safer complex. The head nurse had informed his secretary for most of the students much needed medical supplies, but was surprised to know that he was nowhere to be found.

Jim offered to protect her in case of any more cave-ins from the school building, reminiscing about his days as a military excavator.

When she prompted him about his military career, he had replied that he'd rather not talk about it.

When she reached her infirmary, she began unloading her student's medications, smiling softly at the small amount of help she could be to her school.

There was a slam outside her door, and Jim jumped into a sophisticated stance, ready to (as she saw it) actively fight as a Praying Mantis.

Ulrich burst through the door, with Jeremy at his shoulder, Odd and the others closely behind them.

She hurried the medication over to her desk, instructing Jim to take Jeremy and set him on the bed. She took his wrist for a pulse, using the stethoscope to monitor his breathing.

She reached for a phone and dialed for an ambulance, regarding the faces of the poor boy's anxious friends.

* * *

Aelita stared at Jeremy strapped to the gurney with a oxygen mask, shaking every once in a while when the ambulance jarred in the street. Yumi held her hand softly, sharing a glance with Ulrich every second or so, and Odd sat silent, staring at his hands while twitching his foot.

The EMT's worked quickly and quietly, asking minor questions, and crouching around the small area for better seating area while keeping Jeremy in place, while the driver's companion in the passenger seat spoke into the car radio.

They arrived shortly to the hospital, and Jeremy was quickly rushed off into the ER.

A doctor was asking the others questions as Aelita entered the waiting room. He wrote something on his clipboard and walked away, hardly giving Aelita a glance as he walked away.

"So, what's the story?" She asked them.

Ulrich bent over to look at her. "Everything stands with the whole school deal. But when Jeremy made his way across the campus, a stray wire hit him."

"Did he believe you?" Yumi asked.

"That's what it looked like." Odd said

"What about his burns?" Aelita asked.

Ulrich sighed, lacing his fingers together. "The doctor said that most of his superficial burns are under his skin, and the other are going to take some time to heal."

"No surgery? With burns like that, it would take a skin graft to heal." Yumi said.

"How long would something like that take?" Odd asked.

"About five to ten days, depending on the patient." Aelita answered.

The group sat in silence, taking turns to ask about Jeremy, and buy snacks whenever one of them got hungry. After an hour, Aelita went up to the receptionist's desk, barely opening her mouth before a woman burst in through the ER's waiting room doors.

Her long blonde hair bounced with each quick step she took, and her greayish blue eyes were shadowed with fear. She gently placed her hands on the surface of the desk, her glasses sliding as she peered at the woman at the desk.

"My son, is he here?"

The receptionist barely blinked an eye as she hovered a hand over her keyboard. "What's his name madame?"

"Jeremy Belpois."

Aelita gasped, though she could've already guessed that the woman standing in front of her was Jeremy's mom. The resemblance was uncanny, in a matter of speaking.

The receptionist nodded after hitting a few keys. "Your husband, has he been informed?"

"Yes." Jeremy's mother replied, breathlessly.

"Alright. A doctor will call you shortly. You can sit." The receptionist glanced at Aelita after Jeremy's mom left to sit. "Is there something I can help you with, dear?"

Aelita ran after the mom. "No, I'm good." She hurriedly told the woman before catching up to Jeremy's mother.

* * *

Susanne Belpois felt her heart drop when she got the call. Only a few hours after checking up on him, he had ended up in the the hospital. She had dropped everthing, calling her husband and giving him the same news as she nearly blew her lungs out whistling for a taxi.

Her husband Michel had taken the car, driving late to his office before she could even kiss him good-bye.

They had agreed to meet at the hospital, hoping to speak to the people who brought him in.

Susanne had gotten there first, rushing out of the cab before the driver could give her any change.

A girl with the brightest pink hair was standing by the desk, stepping away for her when she made her way to the desk.

She could've sworn the girl gasped, when she said her son's name, and before she could even sit down, the little girl had grabbed her hand.

"Yes?" She had asked her.

The girl's face went soft, and she stared Susanne as if she had known her for a long time.

"My name's Aelita." She said. "I'm a friend of Jeremy's."

Susanne glanced at her with shock. "Are you one of the kids who brought him in?"

The girl nodded. "We're all here." She said. "I'll introduce you."

"Please." Susanne said, following the pink haired girl to her friends.

* * *

 **So my whole school was evacuated, apparently there was a bomb threat. I doubt there's anything wrong because the last time this happened, there was just a box up cupcakes sitting outside the school's front doors.**

 **In other news, i'm thinking about making aCode Lyoko page on insta with my second account goddamnitwilliam, and if you wanna check it out, great!**

 **Catch you on he flipside!**


	9. Chapter 9

Ulrich saw Aelita first, walking towards them with a blonde woman. He sat up straight, stretching out his back. He turned to Yumi and Odd.

Yumi was lost in a magazine, if lost could mean that she was barely skimming through the pages over and over. Ulrich leaned by her side to look at the pages, and remarked that she was on page five again. He nudged her attention away from the magazine, pointing at Aelita as she drew closer with the blonde woman.

Yumi closed the magazine and threw it carelessly at the coffee table, glancing at Odd's slightly dysfunctional nap.

His legs were drawn up from the floor, barely on the edge of his chair, and he leaned his head against the corner of the wall, his hair bent at an odd shape. He had snored, though it was a bit quiet with his head somewhat nodded down.

Yumi grabbed the side of her chair and swept Odd's legs off the edge of his seat. He woke with a start, glaring at Yumi after she hummed in mischief. Her smile waned quickly.

Aelita finally came close to talking distance, gesturing to them while talking to the blonde woman. "Here they are." She said softly.

The blonde woman blinked behind her rounded glasses, her blue eyes shimmering with sadness. She scanned the group, blinking again in confusion. "Such a small group." She said. She blinked again, and shook her head. "Forgive me. I'm a touch rattled by all this." She apologized.

Ulrich and the others stood, awkwardly shuffling their hellos to the woman.

Aelita nodded behind her. "This is Susanne, Jeremy's mom."

* * *

Principal Delmas woke up in his office with a debilitating headache. He glanced around his office, thankful that the lights were off. He stood, stretching his tired limbs and checking his watch.

He unstrapped the watch and placed it on his desk, sighing. For some strange reason it had short circuited, stuck on 4:10.

He glanced up at the clock above his door. It was about five, so all the students should have been out by now.

He cracked his door open, flinching at the bright light from his secretary's office. When his eyes somewhat adjusted, he was a bit surprised to find that his secretary wasn't sitting in her seat. At this time she usually received calls from other schools and disgruntled parents.

He walked out, putting a hand to his temple. It felt like a spark in his brain had gone haywire, just electrocuting everything. he walked out of the secretary's office, planning on raiding the infirmary cabinets for some Aspirin if he needed to.

As if an almighty being had pitied him, Yolanda turned a corner, with Jim at her heels, holding a few large boxes.

"Honestly, Jim, if it's too much for you, I can take it." She said.

Jim shrugged slightly, the box shifting on his torso. "It's okay, Yolanda. This actually reminds of-"

"Mr. Delmas!" Yolanda exclaimed. She ran forward to the disoriented principal, Jim muttering absently behind her.

The principal nodded his head dimly. "Yolanda, do you have any spare Aspirin?" He asked.

The nurse stopped walking and stuck her hand in the highest box in Jim's grasp. The box lowered, and Delmas could see Jim smile fondly behind it.

Yolanda pulled out a clear plastic bottle, popping it open, and handing the principal two of the small pills.

Delmas swallowed the pills without water, patting the dust off his hands.

The nurse blinked. "Mr. Delmas, what are you doing here? I thought you evacuated the school." She said.

"The school?" Delmas asked. The principal recollected his scattered thoughts, vaguely recalling a moment where he asked the secretary to put him on loud speaker.

He was pretty sure he had evacuated the school to a safer, nearby location.

"Ah yes. Have all the students been collected by their parents?" He asked Yolanda.

The head nurse shrugged. "I left the building to get the children's medication, in case we need them. If they left, I'll be calling parents to pick up the medicine."

Delmas nodded, feeling the headache lessen minimally. The dull throbbing still addled his thinking.

"There is one student, though." Yolanda continued. "Jeremy Belpois. He's been sent to the hospital."

* * *

"Mrs. Belpois!" Ulrich yelled, thrusting his hand out in a formal gesture.

The rest of the group cowered behind him, afraid of any riling anger that was going to come from the mother.

Jeremy's mom paused, and took Ulrich's hand with an embarrassed smile. She shook it once. "Please, just call me Susanne."

Ulrich blushed, and guided Susanne to the seat nearest to the group, a chair Odd randomly pulled from the wall so she could face them.

She sat, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, her glasses bumping up when she touched the ends. She looked down at her lap, then at the group, Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and Aelita all holding hands. She smiled with tears in her eyes.

"We're all worried aren't we?" She said.

The group nodded in silence together, resuming the anxious silence they had before Susanne's introduction.

Barely a minute had passed before a rather tall doctor emerged from the large swinging doors and glanced at his clipboard.

"Belpois?" He said clearly.

Susanne and the other's jumped up, walking towards him almost as one.

The doctor made no move, his face blank by the many years of hospital work. He gestured to the mix of the group. "This way, please."

* * *

X.A.N.A made his way through the sectors, taking the time to admire the digital sights of Lyoko before diving into the digital sea. He hit the section of the forest region where Jeremy would enter the code SCIPIO for the warrior's trip to Carthage, X.A.N.A'S home.

He flew off the edge, diving into the digital sea. The digital abyss took his data, recognizing his form and slowly shifting it into Carthage. X.A.N.A sat quietly sifting a piece of himself in the forest sector, ready to pull the rest of him back out of Carthage when he wanted to.

X.A.N.A eased his way through Carthage, designing a new layout for the the Lyoko warriors to enjoy. The A.I took his time, comfortable knowing that it could take some time to manage a few things, knowing the data he wanted was sitting right where he wanted it.

Though, he would need to keep William on guard for as long as possible though. The brats were quick when it came to retrieving data.

A few sentries here, a "surprise" attack here, and maybe the Scyphozoa could frighten them a little. As long as the task at hand was settled, X.A.N.A could "splurge" himself, as the earthlings have said on the internet.

X.A.N.A made his way to the platform, calling up the translucent screen with all of his home data. He re-coded his files, although he necessarily didn't need to, considering that he had long escaped the confinements of Lyoko. X.A.N.A accessed Jeremy's files, separating them from the others, preventing anything from fusing with another.

He set a code up on Jeremy's file after taking the precise sequences he wanted, burying the file in a wave of decoys. He left the screen, following the walls of the celestial dome to it's south pole. He entered the chamber of Lyoko's core, glaring at the heart before he could even see it.

As he neared the final platforms, he bent off into the digitized atmosphere, facing the core of Lyoko and it's new, horrendous layer. He transferred the precise data he wanted, surging as much force he could behind the data, trying not to electrocute himself.

Slowly, the new layer of the core took in the files that X.A.N.A put up to it, absorbing the streams of code and glowing with a stronger yellow color.

X.A.N.A left the heart of Lyoko, disgusted, but satisfied.

* * *

Jeremy laid on the bed like a rag doll, frail. Immobile. He didn't even look like he was breathing.

Susanne and Aelita both took a side to Jeremy, holding a soft grip on his hands. The others scattered around them, taking spots as close to Jeremy as possible.

Ulrich and Yumi stood next to each other, occasionally grasping the other's hand. Odd sat in the chair directly in front of the bed, his hands clasped together, concentrating on Jeremy as if willing him to wake up.

Susanne had her free hand on the side of Jeremy's face, caressing his cheek with her thumb.

"He'll be out of it for a while." The doctor said. "He'll be a bit groggy when he wakes up though, so try not to take everything he says so seriously."

"Thank you." Aelita muttered to the doctor.

He nodded his head and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The attention drew back towards Jeremy. His hair was tousled wildly, a bit frayed around the ends if someone took a closer look. The I.V drip stood out blatantly on his right arm, the dark etchings of his burns contrasting greatly with the white patch connecting the I.V with his skin.

Patches of gauze dotted along his arms, and Aelita could see some of the bandages curl around his torso. His chest rose and fell with very light and quiet breathing, the most audible sound overtaking the room being the heart monitor.

It's slow steady beeping calmed Aelita gently, and she followed each beep with a stroke of the clasp on Jeremy's finger.

Her gentle hold on his hand had no return, the soft yet reliable grip Jeremy had when he had first toured Aelita through Kadic's neighboring streets was empty, his hand sitting simply in her palm.

Aelita soon fell out of step with the heart monitor's steady pulse, wiping away the tears that gathered in her eyes.

Footsteps neared and faded from the door occasionally, a doctor or nurse making their rounds through each of the rooms. A nurse sometimes walked through the door, checking in on the group and monitoring the I.V drip.

After a few minutes, she had left, leaving the rest of the group as they were before. A knock hit the door, and a shock of brown hair passed through the frame before Susanne recognized her husband.

"Michel!" She exclaimed. She covered the few feet to embrace him, and he hugged her tightly. The embrace lasted for a second before Jeremy's dad pulled back, glancing at Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd in surprise.

"They've brought Jeremy here." Susanne explained, bringing him to the side of the hospital bed.

Aelita nodded to Michel in silence, bringing her attention back to Jeremy.

His brows furrowed as if he were solving on of Lyoko's many problems, and the heart monitor beeped a fraction faster. His breathing hitched, and his empty grasp on Susanne's and Aelita's hands tightened, desperate.

Odd jumped up from his chair and followed Ulrich and Yumi closely to the bed.

Susanne placed her hand on Jeremy's cheek again. "Sweetheart. It's alright, I'm right here with you."

If Jeremy heard her, he didn't respond, breathing rapidly while wrapped in a nightmare.

Aelita shared a concerned glanced with the rest of her friends. The doctor didn't say anything about nightmares.

Jeremy moaned pitifully, terrified of whatever his subconscious was projecting to him. He flinched sharply from something, and he snapped awake with a sudden gasp. Susanne quickly took control, sitting closely in front of him, but carefully abstaining from touching him.

"Here." She said. "I'm right right here, honey. Just focus on my voice."

Jeremy rapidly glanced around the room, and his mother watched carefully. He shook violently, bringing the railing of the hospital bed to a small tremor.

"Breathe in for me sweetheart?" She asked him. "Breath in." She instructed.

Jeremy closed his eyes, drawing a long but shaky inhale. He paused, wincing at his strained ribs.

"Alright," Susanne said. "Exhale. Slowly."

Jeremy nodded, slowly releasing the air he contained, ending with a soft sigh.

"You're doing marvelous. Now, can you repeat that four more times for me?" Jeremy's mom asked with a sweet voice. She turned to her husband. "Stand by there. Be ready to press that button in case something happens." She whispered.

Aelita and the others stared at the small prodigy, very concerned. Jeremy was very aware of his surroundings, and absolutely not groggy. His shaking had lessened, but it was clear that he was incredibly anxious. He had opened his eyes again, and although he was slightly calmer, there was still a trace of uncertainty in his eyes.

"Can you find five things you can clearly see?" Susanne asked Jeremy.

He nodded, and his gaze darted across the room, analyzing everything he could see.

"Th-the chairs, the cabinet, and the vase on top of it. The, uh, T.V. set, and the I.V drip." He listed.

"Four things you can touch?" Susanne instructed next.

"The bed covers." Jeremy said. "The smooth railing, the pillow behind me, and-"

He moved his hand down to his neck, tracing the patch of gauze covering one of his many burns. His mind traced back to the Lyoko, and the Scyphozoa attack.

How much had it taken? What did it take? And most importantly, what would X.A.N.A do with it?

He could see that they noticed his thoughts had wandered, and he blinked back to attention.

"The gauze." He finished softly.

Susanne held her hands together, staring at Jeremy with concern. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jeremy spoke before her.

"Mom. Can I have a moment alone, with my friends?" He asked her .

Susanne hesitated, nodding after her husband had placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, honey." She accepted. She embraced Jeremy softly, and Aelita let go of his hand so he could hug her back. The embrace lasted longer than Susanne's hug with Michel, and Jeremy had smiled for the first time since the scanner.

"Alright." Michel chuckled. "We don't want to keep the friends waiting."

Susanne sighed, and finally pulled back. She left the room silently, with Michel by her side.

The door clicked shut behind them, and Jeremy quickly turned to the others. "Fill me in."

* * *

Michel closed the door behind him as he and Susanne walked out, and he stood by the the door frame as Susanne sat in the chair by the wall.

"He was terrified." She stated simply. "He was lucid, but _terrified_."

Michel stared at her, arms crossed. "What do you mean?"

Susanne stood, lacing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "The doctor said Jeremy would be a bit 'groggy'. Not the best choice of word, but you know what he meant."

Michel nodded slowly, glancing at the door. "And he wasn't all the least bit 'groggy.'" He sighed.

"Being electrocuted is fatal all on it's own, but Jeremy wasn't scared of that. He was looking for someone." Susanne said quickly.

"Wait, you think someone did this?" Michel asked. He took up her hands and held them close.

"Aelita said it was a stray wire." She said. "If that's true, he should have-" She held a palm to her mouth, pausing for several seconds. "He should have dropped immediately after."

"Susanne." Michel said. "We don't know where the wire was. For all we know, it could have been on the floor."

"Or in someone's hands." Susanne said.

Michel stared at her incredulously.

Susanne pointed to the door. "Those markings are clear signs of over-exposure. A damaged wire would only have so much electricity pouring through it." She paced a few feet. "He has _Lichtenberg_ figures, Michel. That's _high_ voltage." She said.

Michel stood silent, a shade paler.

"This wasn't an accident." Susanne said, her voice wavering. "This was tor-"

A sob broke through, and she covered her face with her hands. Michel quickly gathered her up in his arms, holding her tight.

"We'll figure this out, okay?" He whispered while swaying her softly. "He's here with us right now, right in that room." He glanced at her. "He's safe."

* * *

"You just stood there." Odd said. "And then I asked you to say something, and you said something like, 'I swear Odd, keep doing that,' and I asked what you meant, and you just collapsed."

Ulrich nodded. "Then we brought you and Mr. Delmas to the school as fast as we could."

Upon hearing the principal's name, Jeremy flinched sharply, the bed's metal railing shaking with a low dull sound.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Jeremy, the principal is not X.A.N.A."

"I came really close to dying today, okay?" Jeremy snapped. "I don't know what you guys saw, but when a computer A.I is holding you a few feet above the ground, slowly crushing in your rib cage while pouring electricity through it, _while_ possessing the principal, the subconscious is going to take that information at 'face value.'"

Jeremy paused, eyes watering, and he drew up his legs and rested his head on his knees.

"Jeremy." Aelita said, glancing at the others.

Yumi and Ulrich stood a foot away from the bed, shocked at Jeremy's outburst. Odd had taken his seat again, his expression just about the same. He opened his mouth, but whatever joke he was going to utter died on his lips. He glanced around the room awkwardly.

Jeremy sat silently in his bed, until the sound of sobbing came through the other side of the door.

 _"We'll figure this out, okay?"_ The muffled voice of Jeremy's father said. _"He's here with us right now, right in that room."_ His dad paused. _"He's safe."_

Jeremy stared guiltily at the door.

Yumi was the first to break the awkward silence, stepping closer to the bed. "What now?" She asked.

Jeremy slowly glanced at the group, his eyes darted from object to object. He glanced at the cabinet, slowly trailing it to the heart monitor. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Congrats, Yumi. You got his gears turning." Ulrich said, placing an arm on Yumi's shoulder.

Aelita haphazardly swatted an arm at Ulrich. "Shh, he's still thinking."

Jeremy blinked his attention to the I.V drip in his arm, then he swung his legs over the bedside after he lowered the metal railing.

"It's going to take a lot of improvising," He said. "But I need to check the supercomputer."

"Another hospital breakout?" Odd quipped. "What kind of sci-fi story is this?"

"That's a funny question, considering we fight an evil computer monster." Ulrich replied.

Jeremy pushed himself off the bed, groaning as the burns strained from his movement.

"Don't exert yourself, Jeremy." Aelita said.

Jeremy waved a hand at her concern. "I'll be okay." He walked over to the shelved cabinets, picking out some sanitized napkin packets and band-aids, while keeping the I.V drip close. He ripped the napkin packet open, resting it on the table. He carefully peeled back the vacuumed tape from the I.V needle, slowly removing the syringe, and placing the sterile napkin on top of the tiny wound.

He unwrapped a band-aid and placed it on top of the needle puncture, pushing the I.V drip back to it's usual spot.

"We're going to have to do this quietly, and efficiently." He said. He glanced back at the door, where his parent's conversation had gone back to a simple murmur.

"But first, someone's going to have to take some time distracting my mom and dad.

* * *

 **Guess who's not dead yo.**

 **Me.**

 **Obviously, I knew that.**

 **Oh my god, I'm so sorry it took so long for me to type this. Testing and laziness don't mix well at all.**

 **I need coffee.**

 **Edit*****

 **I've re-edited some parts of this chapter.**

 **Please review what you think so I can work on the fic and know what and what not to write.**

 **Have a good day!**


	10. Please read

After some time and consideration, I've decided to postpone the story indefinitely. I realized that I can't continue it like I want to, mainly because of my time constraints, and because of my limited resources.

I know that sounds like a horrible excuse, and I'm really sorry for letting you guys down, the reviews you've all sent mean so much to me, but I just can't see myself finishing the story.

I know some of you as much more talented writers than myself, so I'm leaving the option of story adoption. While this will remain up, anyone who wants to take up the story can message me if they want to, I won't push it o to anyone.

Sorry again.


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